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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · sharp · bear · bark · cap · lean · shower · key

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bear — the animal
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. lean — thin
  8. swing — music
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bark — to shout
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bear — the animal
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. cap — a lid
  17. key — in music
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. key — for a lock
  20. swing — in golf
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. shower — rain
  24. lean — to bend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com